The country is sweltering under a heatwave this summer, but its nice and cool in Mackinac Island. Michigan's upper peninsula, or "the UP" as midwesterners call it, is beautiful country for sure. But Mackinac Island pronounced "Mackinaw" is the jewel of the UP.
Now, Denese and I are committed travelers who are striving to see every state before we "land" (finish this travel madness and settle down in one place) and everyone we talked to about Michigan said two things. The first is, you have to visit Mackinac Island, and secondly, you have to see the Great Lakes. So. . . . off we went.
While the Mayflower was bringing Pilgrims to New England in 1620, French explorers were venturing westward toward the Upper Great Lakes into what was then known as New France. By 1720, the Straits of Mackinac had become the primary transportation corridor in the Upper Great Lakes, fueling a vibrant fur trade that powered the economy of New France. Just five years earlier, to safeguard the fur trade, the French built Fort Michilimackinac on the mainland at the tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, in what is now Mackinaw City.
The island is about 20 miles from Mackinaw City and a nice ferry ride which takes about 25 minutes or so. One of the first things we noticed when we got off the boat is; there aren't any cars!
Getting around the island is accomplished in one of three ways. On a bicycle, horse drawn carriage, or walking. Bicycles propelled by wobbly riders are everywhere and believe me its quite the challenge to cross a street safely. We chose to take a tour of the island by carriage which begins downtown. Mackinac Island is very popular with tourists and therefore demand for carriage rides is heavy. There are approximately 150 horses working during the season, most of which power tour carriages and delivery vehicles. We even saw a UPS cart pull up to a local shop to deliver boxes of supplies and smiled.
The tour clopped it's way through several streets downtown which gave the tour guide time to weave buildings and places of local fame into the island story. The island is small and very hilly, and so it takes a while to climb up to the famous Grand Hotel, which we are told is the site of the film "Somewhere In Time" starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.
Suddenly, the bustle of the town is gone and we are traveling down a beautiful tree lined road in the countryside. Our guide tells us not to disturb any of the dead foliage or pick pine cones, because we will be heavily fined. Apparently the topsoil is very thin because we are on a rock, and any disturbance in the eco system can cause irreparable damage to the trees.
You will notice in the pic that there is another hazard to navigate if walking is your mode of transport. 150 horses traveling down the same pathway leave their mark every so often and unwittingly contribute to the health of these beautiful trees. Yep, its scooped and scattered, but we observed that the horses produced faster than the scoopers. Something to consider!
We stayed for the day, visited the many local shops and bought some famous Mackinac Island fudge. We had a fabulous lunch in a Jamaican restaurant ( yes, I did say Jamaican) Mackinac Island has a sizable Jamaican population of seasonal workers. In fact, the Kingston Kitchen at the Village Inn was started by a former seasonal worker 20 years ago. Chef Shawn, has since carved out a wonderful business serving Jamaican inspired food, and we highly recommend it.
Ferries are plentiful in season and so we hopped on the 5.00 pm after a full but satisfying day on the island. If you need somewhere fun to visit, this is the place. Put it on your must see list if you are in the area.
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